Mary B: An Untold Story of Pride and Prejudice

This retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of middle sister Mary Bennet promises a witty tale of romantic adventure. In the original, Mary is portrayed as prim, plain, and moreover, tone-deaf socially and musically. But first novelist Chen invites us to reconsider the inner life of the often overlooked Bennet sibling. After a witty prolog about the family, that wry and elegant tone unfortunately deteriorates into sappiness as Mary recounts the three loves of her life. A bit of satire and parody in the Austen tradition could have leavened Chen's interpretation. Reimagining Elizabeth Bennet as manipulative and gentle Charlotte Lucas as proud misses the point of Austen's timeless and beloved characters, and the author's many fans expect the protagonists in any retelling to be consistent with the originals.